Whitetails Have Two Noses?

The sense of smell of deer is legendary. There are hundreds of products on the market and homegrown remedies for eliminating human scent and appealing to hunger and sexual urges through smell. Did you know however deer actually have two noses?

According to a fascinating article put out by Dr. Karl V. Miller from the University of Georgia, few hunters realize that a deer actually has two ‘noses’.

“The second nose is technically not a nose, but it serves some of the same purpose. If you look on the roof of the deer’s mouth you will see a diamond shaped structure with a small passage leading into the palate. This additional nose, called the vomeronasal organ (VNO), is similar to the Jacobson’s organ that snakes use to ‘taste’ the air. Deer use the VNO exclusively to analyze urine. When a buck sees a doe urinate, he will often take some of this urine into his mouth and perform a behavior called flehmen, or lip-curl.”

”This flehmen helps to introduce urine into the VNO. It is interesting that this organ is not connected to the same part of the brain that the nose is connected to. Instead it is connected to the part of the brain that controls the reproductive condition of the deer. What type of information the deer is getting is unknown, but it is likely that odors analyzed in the VNO help get the hormones pumping in the buck and bring him into rutting condition.”

As soon as I found out about this second nose yeas back I contacted TF&G Hunting Editor Lou Marullo to see what he thought about it.

His reply?

“Great! I was worried enough about the first nose and the eyes and ears now I have to worry about appealing to or avoiding a second one. Yikes! LOL.”

Chester Moore